The Obama administration views Israel as one of the top spying threats facing its intelligence services, leaked documents reveal. A secret budget request obtained by The Washington Post from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden lumps Israel alongside U.S. foes Iran and Cuba as key targets for U.S. counterintelligence efforts. The document suggests Israel does not believe U.S. assurances that its interests are aligned with Israel's on crucial issues such as Iran and peace talks with the Palestinians. To further safeguard our classified networks, we continue to strengthen insider threat detection capabilities across the Community, reads the FY 2013 congressional budget justification for intelligence programs. In addition, we are investing in target surveillance and offensive CI [counterintelligence] against key targets, such as China, Russia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and Cuba. The White House and the Israeli Embassy did not respond to requests for comment. The revelations come as no surprise to Georgetown University's Paul Pillar, who retired as the national intelligence officer for the Near East in 1995 after a 28-year career in U.S. intelligence. Israeli spying, he said, has remained a major threat since U.S. citizen Jonathan Pollard received a life sentence in 1987 in a massive spying case that gravely strained relations between the two countries. Israel should be assumed to continue to have an aggressive intelligence collection operations against the United States, Pillar said. While much information is collected through traditional political contacts, I would personally have no doubt that that is supplemented by whatever means they can use to find out as much as they can about what we're doing, thinking, deciding on anything of interest to Israel, which would include just about any Middle Eastern topic. The issues of continued Israeli settlement construction and Obama's strong interest in reaching a negotiated settlement to avoid a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program, Pillar said, are two issues where U.S. and Israeli interests certainly diverge, he said. Spying, he said, could give Israel warning indicators before any public decisions, and enable the country to put its political machine in action and get the United States to reconsider. If I were in [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's shoes and had his perspective, Pillar said, I would spare no effort to try to collect every bit of intelligence I could, in secret as well as openly. He said the public revelations won't impact U.S.-Israeli relations. Everything is trumped by political realities, Pillar said. Don't expect any statement by the White House press secretary tomorrow that says, 'Oh my gosh, we are really upset with the Israelis for trying to spy on us'. You're never going to hear anything like that, because politically it is hazardous for basically any American politician  and certainly an incumbent American administration  to underscore ... the divergence of U.S. and Israeli interests.

The religion and culture of the more influential constituents and their politicians today are different from those of the influential constituents from our nation’s first settlements until about 50 years ago.

My bet is that they have multiple sources inside US intelligence agencies. I bet they have at least a couple of sources inside the white house and several inside the House and Senate.

It’s a sure bet that all of the highly technical operations undertaken by US intelligence agencies have technical experts that report to Israel all details. There are no US national technical means that Israel does not understand.

Israel knows exactly what is going on over here.

I’d sure hate to be tasked with handling 100,000+ US employees of the intel agencies and insuring that no details get back to six million smart Jews in Israel ;-)

Take any highly technical system created in the US for gathering intelligence data and it was probably a group of Jews who built the thing.

I get livid, full of rage when I come across reports of Israel spying on our country. I am a Jewish supporter of Israel and its Zionist perspective but I am an American, first and foremost, jingoistic patriot in a manner that transcends any other of my allegiances.

Assurances from the Israeli government over allegations of spying that span decades with promises never again to engage in such activities, only to be caught again is shameless and sinister and Israel should be punished for such deeds to the fullest extent.

I've also always believed the punishment against Pollard in receiving one of the harshest sentences in history for the espionage committed is one he richly deserves and not be released until he serves out the full sentence.

I must say, it's reports like this that make me so very ashamed of Israel, so very ashamed for the utter betrayal they continue to commit without abandon.

Dude: We love Israel. Israel loves us. And you’re right, Pollard should have burned long ago. But we spy on each other. We all spy on each other. There are plenty of books and articles about this phenomenon: The UK spies on us and vice versa. France tries to spy on us, and everything that isn’t nailed to the floor leaks out of France. We also share secrets and technology. It’s just how things are. And heck, the posters are right: Obama is a threat to Israel, he’s said it, he’s declared it, he’s proved it. Does that mean we are at war with Israel? No, we just have a crummy President right now. They know it, we know it.

Gee what could have led to that conclusion: -murdering Iranian civilians and attempting to implicate the United States. -Shamelessly grovelling for the release of traitorous spy Jonathan Pollard. -infiltration of American art schools... Remember the USS Liberty!!

Ahh, yes! Finally someone has the GUTS to say it! Down with Israel, enemy of our friends in Iran! Ahh, yes, the miniscule percentage of ultra-left Israelis who actually give a rat's ass about Jonathan Pollard, an American, and who hold up a sign from time to time to get on the fawning MSM and anti-Jew websites, constitute "The Israelis!" And worse of all, the infiltration of American ART SCHOOLS! DOWN WITH THE HOOK NOSED GLUE-STICK BORROWING BASTARDS!

We all spy on each other. There are plenty of books and articles about this phenomenon: The UK spies on us and vice versa. France tries to spy on us, and everything that isnt nailed to the floor leaks out of France. We also share secrets and technology. Its just how things are. ===================================================================

Yeah, I see what you mean. You want to take the high moral ground, which I can well understand as you've said; we all spy on each other and its just how things are.

If I take your rationale for the ghastly justification in which you advocate one country spying on another whose very magnanimity, benevolence, largesse it owns its very soul to because we all spy on each other and it's just how things are then I can apply the same logic, if that's what you want to call it, to justify murder because we all kill each other and it's just how things are.

I don't know who you think you are. You speak to me as if I'm some wet-behind-the-ears novice of some sort to take under your wing and teach me the way of the world. You are naive beyond words, your morality, scruples, beyond redemption, your willingness to betray your country is an anathema to all, everything I believe in.

I assume you are of the Jewish faith and if so you are a shameless embarrassment to the rest of us deserved of the status of pariah. It's people like you, the duplicitous, ungracious, exploitative persona that festers within, that belie the high moral ground most of us as Jews choose to take in life, things like honor, patriotism, service in duty of, that comes too hard for you but is to the rest of us a noble, divine calling.

Is this article condemning Israel for spying on the country with the NSA, that spies on the UN and Germany, that has the kremlin resorting to typewriters?

What two-faced, self-righteous garbage.

Thankfully, Israel has leadership who understand the importance of survival. Unlike the offensive spying in which the US seems to be engaged, Israel seems engaged in defensive spying even assuming this article is accurate, so it can anticipate the next initiative coming from the US that undermines its very survival.

39
posted on 08/30/2013 3:49:09 AM PDT
by Piranha
(Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have - Saul Alinsky)

I assume you are of the Jewish faith and if so you are a shameless embarrassment to the rest of us deserved of the status of pariah. It's people like you, the duplicitous, ungracious, exploitative persona that festers within, that belie the high moral ground most of us as Jews choose to take in life, things like honor, patriotism, service in duty of, that comes too hard for you but is to the rest of us a noble, divine calling.

Oh well. I have six years in military service to my country (not Israel.) I don't really know what you mean about duplicity, ungraciousness, and exploitatin but you are right in saying that I, and everyone else who knows what is going on in the world, knows also that it is naive to think that allies don't spy on each other. The difference of course with Pollard is that he was an American. Now: Is it wrong? Maybe and maybe not. Is it unsavory? Maybe, to some. Do you trust your own government wholly, absolutely? Maybe you do. Do you trust others, or allies, like France? Maybe so. These are personal, subjective questions. Objectively, factually, everybody spies on everybody. Sorry!

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